


Of Teenage Hormones and Overprotective Parenting

by Sinna



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Schönberg/Boublil, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: All pairings besides Marius/Cosette are pretty minor, F/M, High School AU, I blame Murf for the hint of Valvert, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-28
Updated: 2013-05-28
Packaged: 2017-12-13 05:04:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/820319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinna/pseuds/Sinna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Marius is banned from prom and Cosette takes Gavroche instead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Teenage Hormones and Overprotective Parenting

Cosette wasn’t sure whether she wanted to scream or cry. She did neither.

“But, Papa,” she whimpered.

“Cosette, I know you want to go to Prom with him, but the fact is the the Pontmercy boy’s grandfather and legal guardian has requested that he be banned from the dance.”

“But you know he doesn’t live with his grandfather! He’s been living with Courfeyrac for the past six months and you know it! Please, Papa! I know very well this is really about me. You just don’t want me to have any fun!”

“Cosette, this has nothing to do with you. I will admit that I’m not adverse to this turn of events, but I have no control over it. Principal Javert has already agreed to this, so there’s really nothing I can do about it.”

“He’d let Marius come if you reasoned with him.”

Cosette was pouting now, crossing her arms and thrusting out her lower lip. Nonetheless, her father stood firm.

“You know I try to avoid Javert whenever possible. It’s a miracle he hasn’t already recognized me.”

“Papa, what are you talking about? You always say things like that. If you’re so worried about that Javert is going to recognize you, whatever that means, why are you teaching at his school?”

Her father said something under his breath, which might have been “I want to keep an eye on you.”

“Please, Papa. I just want one special night with my boyfriend. Can’t you at least try? For me?”

“No, Cosette. This conversation is over.”

“Fine!”

She took the stairs two at a time, retreating to the safety of her bedroom, where she collapsed on her bed, trying not to cry.

When she grew tired of feeling sorry for herself, she picked up her phone, scrolling through her contacts until she found Marius.

He picked up on the second ring.

“Cosette! My love! How are you?”

“Bad news,” she told him. “Papa refuses to talk to Javert.”

“It’s okay,” he said with only a tinge of sadness. “I’ll take you out for dinner instead.”

“Can’t. Papa’s insisting that I go anyway. He’s chaperoning, and he wants me where he can see me. As usual. I’ve told him I don’t want to go alone, but he won’t let me stay home.”

“Pretend you’re sick?” Marius suggested.

She laughed.

“He wouldn’t believe that.”

“You wouldn’t happen to want to take an eleven year old kid, would you?” Marius asked.

“Are you joking?”

“Not really. Eponine told her little brother Gavroche she’d take him, but then Montparnasse asked her and now he’s really disappointed. He’s really sweet. You’d like him.”

“You’re just worried I’ll take someone my age and like him better than you,” Cosette teased.

Marius made a series of amusing sounds as he tried to form words.

“I’m teasing you, Marius. I wouldn’t want to go with anyone else anyway. I’d love to take Gavroche.”

 

The night of Prom, Cosette was just finishing her hair when she heard a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it!” she shouted, not wanting her father to scare her date away before she could even meet him.

She raced to the door, still barefoot, and threw it open. She was just fast enough to see Eponine’s car driving away.

A young boy was standing on her doorstep in a neat but clearly second-hand suit.

“You must be Miss Cosette,” he said.

“And I presume you’re Gavroche?”

“At your service,” he declared with a slight bow.

“Come inside,” she told him. “I’m almost finished getting ready.”

He entered the house.

“I got you a corsage,” he said, blushing slightly. “That’s what ‘Ponine told me I should do.”

Cosette accepted the slightly crushed corsage and slipped it around her wrist.

“Thank you.”

“Your dress is pretty, miss.”

Cosette smoothed the lavender satin of her skirt.

“You think?”

There had been a gorgeous pink dress she’d tried on, but her father had objected to the low neckline. She could have convinced him to buy it for her, but she’d still been hoping he would change his mind about talking to Principal Javert. No such luck. Still, the lavender dress was nice enough, and probably much more appropriate for a date with an eleven year old.

“It’s lovely. You’re lovely.”

Cosette sighed dreamily. Marius had been right. The kid was a sweetheart.

“I presume you’re the one taking my Cosette to Prom?” her father asked, entering the room.

Gavroche grinned.

 “Yes, sir.”

“I’ll be keeping a close eye on you, kid.”

But he seemed to genuinely like the boy.

Cosette slipped her feet into her gold sandals and bent down to fasten them.

“Allow me, miss,” Gavroche requested.

She smiled and held out her foot. Kneeling, he fastened the strap, making sure it wasn’t too tight or too loose. She set that foot down and held out the other one and he did the same.

“I think we’re ready to go,” she said.

 

Forty-five minutes later, after getting horribly lost in the city, they finally made it to the hotel where Prom was being held. Gavroche held the door and helped Cosette out of the car.

“I have to go around to the back entrance,” her father said. “Will you two be all right, or should I escort you in?”

“We’ll be fine, Papa,” Cosette assured him with a laugh.

“I’ll look after her, sir,” Gavroche promised sincerely.

“Okay, little man. Take good care of her. You have my number in your phone, right Cosette? Call me if you need anything.”

“I will, Papa. Now go and get to your job of watching kids and avoiding Principal Javert.”

She kissed him on the cheek, then turned away, taking Gavroche’s offered arm. He escorted her inside with a smile.

 

The lights were dim, but the music wasn’t too loud from the entrance. Of course, that was certain to mean it was obnoxiously loud near the dance floor, but Cosette appreciated that the size of the room made the noise level manageable from far away. She looked around, searching for familiar faces. She knew most of the members of the school’s ABC Society were here. Marius had told her about the political activist group which he occasionally attended, and she’d seen pictures of the members, although the only ones she’d actually been introduced to were Marius’ roommate, Courfeyrac, and Jehan, who was in her art class.

Eponine approached her, in a surprisingly elegant sky blue dress, her hair pinned up except for a few ringlets that framed her face.

“Thank you for bringing Gavroche,” she said.

“You’re welcome,” Cosette replied, a little unsure where she stood with this girl. It was a well known fact that Eponine was in love with Marius, and resented Cosette for dating him. But right now she had her hand entwined with Montparnasse’s and she seemed genuinely happy.

With that, Eponine was gone, whisking her partner towards the dance floor. That designer suit Montparnasse was wearing had to be stolen, or obtained through questionably legal means, but it looked really good on him.

“Shall we dance?” Gavroche asked.

Cosette listened. She really didn’t like the song that was playing.

“Maybe later. Want to get food?”

Gavroche nodded eagerly. Then he paused. He took her hand and led her to the nearest chair.

“Wait here, miss. I’ll bring your food shortly. Any requests?”

“Surprise me,” she said.

Her father had already shown her the menu, and she knew she liked everything on it.

After he left, she continued to scan the room for familiar faces. She found most of Marius’ friends sitting near the dance floor. Courfeyrac had a girl, who Cosette thought she recognized as Eponine's sister, sitting on his lap and occasionally stopped talking to kiss her. Joly, Bossuet, and Musichetta had somehow squeezed themselves into one chair, and seemed to be lost in a world of their own. Combeferre was talking to Enjolras, but the blonde was only giving the conversation half his attention. The other half was focused on the dark haired boy sitting next to him. Their hands were linked between their chairs. Cosette didn’t recognize him, so she assumed he was Enjolras’ boyfriend from another school. She’d never heard anything about Enjolras’ love life, except for its nonexistence, but she wasn’t too surprised that he’d take a guy to Prom, to make a statement if for no other reason. That left Feuilly, Grantaire, and Jehan still to be found.

Jehan was easily spotted, considering that he was wearing a tie-dye suit and a flower crown. He was in the middle of the dance floor, dancing with anyone who approached him and laughing merrily. Feuilly took slightly longer to spot, but she eventually found him chatting with the DJ. Come to think of it, hadn’t Marius mentioned that the DJ was a friend of theirs? Bahorel or something? That left only Grantaire. Where was he? According to Marius, he was never far from Enjolras. Except- oh. Enjolras brought a boyfriend. Grantaire probably hadn’t come after hearing that.

“Your food, miss,” Gavroche announced, returning with a plate for her.

In his other hand he had a plate for himself. He pulled up a chair for himself, and they chatted while they snacked. To Cosette’s immense surprise, the kid was intelligent and fun to talk to. She was actually having a lot more fun than she’d expected.

 

“AND MAY I HAVE EVERYONE’S ATTENTION!!” the DJ shouted. “It’s time to announce Prom King and Queen. Personally, I think the whole thing is rather lame, but I’m not being paid for my opinions. So, without further ado, here is Mr. Fauchelevent.”

Cosette’s father stood up on the small stage.

“It is my honor to announce that this year’s Prom Queen is my daughter, Euphrasie Fauchelevent.”

Everyone looked around in confusion as Cosette buried her face in her hands.

“You know her, miss?” Gavroche asked.

“She’s me,” Cosette explained. “I could kill him for using my real name.”

“Well, then you’re Prom Queen!” Gavroche pointed out. “That’s fantastic! Come on!”

He grabbed her hand and dragged her up towards the stage, giving her the final push up the stairs. Her father smiled as he placed a glittering tiara on her head, and Cosette forgave him for the name.

“And this year’s Prom King is a bit of a surprise, as he’s technically not supposed to be here, but I’ve brought him anyway. Marius Pontmercy, ladies and gentlemen.”

Cosette squealed as Marius walked on stage, grinning at her. She waited only until her father had crowned him before she launched herself into his arms.

“Marius! Thank you, Papa!”

“Mr. Fauchelevent, this is strictly forbidden! That student has been banned from school events. You know that.”

Principal Javert stormed on stage, the picture of fury. Cosette clung tightly to Marius.

“Javert, it’s prom and he wants to dance with his girlfriend. Can you let him be for just one night?”

“Wait a minute! Valjean?!”

“Javert, can we discuss this outside? These students are trying to enjoy their prom.”

For a second, it seemed Javert would push the issue. Finally, he sighed in defeat.

“You’re right. Outside. Now.”

“Do you have any idea what that was about, love?” Marius asked.

“None at all,” Cosette admitted.

Honestly, she didn’t even care at the moment. Papa had broken school rules to make sure she had Marius on this special night. That was pretty incredible.

“Well, after that, ahem, interesting display, I think it’s time for a slower song for the lovebirds. On the dance floor, kiddos.”

Marius led Cosette down off the stage, as Bahorel put on A Thousand Years. Cosette might have thought he was sappy, if Marius hadn’t whispered in her ear:

“He’s just playing this to annoy Enjolras. Grantaire drunkenly serenaded him with it a few too many times last year. You should see how viciously he turns off the radio whenever it comes on. Of course, he might not mind so much now that they’re dating.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, apparently they’re dating now. I didn’t know until this morning. I think something happened at Courf’s party last night.”

Cosette thought back to the dark haired boy she’d seen holding hands with Enjolras. That had been _Grantaire_?!

As if to confirm it for her, she now saw the two of them dancing a short distance away, although making out on the dance floor might be a better term for what they were doing. It _was_ Grantaire, she realized. He looked really different, in a suit and with his wild curls tamed.

She rested her head on Marius’ shoulder, sighing in contentment. This was probably the best night of her life.

 

Eponine laughed as Montparnasse spun her around. He really was an excellent dancer, so she let him lead and relaxed in the flow of the music. For once, she wasn’t thinking about Marius, or worrying about her family. Tonight, she was wearing gorgeous clothes and dancing with a gorgeous man who treated her like a princess. Tomorrow, everything would be shit again, but tonight she had everything she wanted.

 

Gavroche approached the snack table, grabbing himself another plate and piling it high with cookies. ‘Ponine was happy, Cosette was happy, Grantaire was happy. All in all, the night had gone much better than he had hoped. And if he found Azelma here with her senior boyfriend, he’d treat her to a dance and give the boy a very stern talking-to.

 

When Principal Javert came to school the next morning, soaked to the skin and inexplicably friends with Mr. Fauchelevent, no one could explain it. Cosette smiled, called it “the magic of Prom Night” and slipped the principal an invitation to dinner from her father.

**Author's Note:**

> There are parts of this which are inspired by my own prom experience. Most notably, not being recognized when fancied up.


End file.
